


We'll Laugh 'til Our Ribs Get Tough

by WhereDidTayeGo



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF), Video Blogging & YouTube RPF
Genre: Angst, Existentialism, M/M, Songfic, i actually had fun with this, i think this is angst, new year's fic, there's some fluff, this is a product of me not going to bed till 6am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-26 18:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1697573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhereDidTayeGo/pseuds/WhereDidTayeGo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's New Year's Eve 2014, and Dan thinks too much...</p><p>(pssst this has been nominated for a phanfic award under Best Songfic!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	We'll Laugh 'til Our Ribs Get Tough

**Author's Note:**

> Before you read this... I should tell you that I'm not a practiced gay writer. In my opinion, I suck at it. But this idea has been swimming in my head since the first time I heard Ribs by Lorde, which I highly recommend you all go find right now and listen to it while you read this because this is based loosely around it . The lyrics are so good and they just screamed 2009 Phan at me. I even put the lyrics at the end of the fic if you want to take a quick glance at them before you read the story. I recommend that too. IT'S SUCH A GOOD SONG OH MY GOD. GO LOVE IT. 
> 
> This is a work of fiction. I do not claim ownership of the song Ribs. I'm American as well. While I know enough England slang, I stuck with mostly American slang.

_Ribs_

_It drives you crazy, getting old…_

New Year’s Eve essentially shouldn’t make Dan think about everything. He’s supposed to drink a little too much, laugh a little too loud, and whisk his worries out the door along with his dignity. He won’t be in need them for the night. But it’s Dan, and he worries about everything.

So when Phil tells him that they’re going to Louise’s to celebrate the coming of 2015, he says yes without a second thought, until the day of that is…

Because honestly, who doesn’t think about the upcoming year? What the months and days will bring. He’s going to be twenty-four in six months’ time and he feels like he has nothing to show for it. That’s what his head does to him at three in the goddamn morning when he probably has to be up at the ass crack of dawn for something to do with the BBC. Yet, his mind is playing tricks on him.

Dan is always thinking about the future; sure he says that he doesn’t fall into the black hole of existentialism anymore. And sure he doesn’t freak out about it as much as he did when he was twenty. The future still scares him.

Dan thinks about the past too. He finds himself consumed some nights by the memories of when he was eighteen and nineteen. He cringes at a lot of it. Though, there are some things that make him grin absentmindedly. Like when Phil tweeted him for the first time and he may or may not have fangirled (he totally did, don’t let him tell you otherwise). Or when they first met. When he got accepted to Manchester University and how he was never at his dorm; he practically lived with Phil that first year.

Then he moved in with Phil and that’s when he started falling into his quarter life crisis before inevitably leaving Uni.

He was a college drop-out and sure he was happy with what he had, he was grateful. But he still worried about what comes after if YouTube burns down or something. What happens when the BBC lets them go? The thoughts at night are never ending and how he wishes sometimes that he was still an 18 year old visiting Phil every weekend he got and they shared beds like little kids.

_I’ve never felt more alone; feels so scary getting old._

_I want it back (I want it back)_

_The minds we had (the minds we had)_

_It’s not enough to feel the lack (it’s not enough to feel the lack)_

_I want it back._

_I want it back_

_I want it_

-          

Dan looks in the mirror while he gets ready for the party. The dark circles under his eyes are looking as horrid as ever, he has a tiny blemish near his nose and his lips are chapped. He licks his lips which does nothing really. He sighs and continues to fuss over his hair.

“Ready to leave?” Phil’s practically sings from the hall way.

“I’m ready to get shitfaced if that’s what you’re asking,” Dan laughs as he walks into the hallway. He was dressed in dark colors, and his hoodie he notices sits a little tight around his middle.

Phil rolls his eyes at the comment but leads the way out of their flat nonetheless.

_This dream isn’t feeling sweet_

_We’re reeling through the midnight streets._

_I’ve never felt more alone_

_It feels so scary getting old_

_-_

Louise’s house party is already in full swing when the two arrive half an hour late. Drinks are being passed around generously, people are dancing around, and some are stumbling already. There are loud voices bouncing around and even louder laughter. 

Yet, Dan is thinking a little too hard already. He needs a drink.

Louise approaches them with a big smile and it seems she was reading Dan’s mind because she comes with two red cups.

“Hello boys,” her voice sings as she hands them the cups, “Phil take it easy on those it’s—”

“Malibu and Pineapple juice,” Dan says—it’s his favorite.

Phil just looks at him quirking an eyebrow.

“Louise knows what I like,” he laughs and winks at her.

“Keep it in your pants, Howell, I don’t need another Darcy,” Louise plays along.

Phil goes slightly rigid next to him, Dan pretends he doesn’t notice. Because Phil doesn’t get jealous, that’s Dan’s job.

“Speaking of the little human, where is she?” Phil asks.

“With my mum and dad, they have her for till Saturday,” Louise says, “anyway, have fun boys, not too much fun though,” she smiles and bumps hips with Phil as she passes.

The night carries on and the two drink more than they should, to the point where they’re in a corner giggling about something with glossy eyes and big grins. Dan isn’t thinking about much other than the fact that his cup is nearly empty and Phil’s eyes are kind of pretty when they’re just giant pupils with a circle of cerulean around them.

“My cup is empty,” Dan slurs and pouts into the cup.

“Nothing to pout over, I’ll go get more,” Phil says and takes Dan’s cup. He stumbles away and Dan watches him till he can’t see him in the crowd of bouncing bodies.

When Phil walks back over, he’s brandishing two cups like he won the lottery. Until he _spills_ one of the drinks all over Dan’s front.

“ _Phil,”_ Dan says, drawing out the single syllable making it sound like two.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry uh—let’s go find a towel or something,” Phil slurs and he sets the drinks down on the ground before grabbing Dan’s wrist and dragging him away. Dan doesn’t protest from the sudden contact and he honestly missed it.

They find themselves in Louise’s bathroom with Dan shirtless, with Phil blow drying his hoodie and t-shirt with Louise’s hair dryer. In their drunken state, they don’t realize that alcohol is extremely flammable and if Dan’s shit catches fire, he’d probably have to change his YouTube name. But they passed drunk an hour ago, so this was an excellent idea.

Dan puts his shirt on after it’s somewhat dry. It’s warm, it smells like a brewery, but it’ll do.

He sits on the toilet and glances at Phil who has the funniest look of determination on his face as he tries to dry the hoodie.

“Remember New Year’s when you were 18?” Phil tries to say over the hair dryer.

“I remember the hangover,” Dan says laughing.

“You were drinking Malibu straight from the bottle like an idiot,” Phil says as he shuts off the hair dryer, “and you puked all over my bathroom,” Phil looked Dan in the eye, “and you were a heathen the next morning, well afternoon—it was endearing though, I promise.”

“You never told me this, you just told me I passed out as soon as we got back to your place,” Dan was horrified. _All over the bathroom, Mrs. Lester probably had to clean that up…_

“Didn’t want to embarrass you, God knows you do that enough yourself,” Phil smirks.

“Shut up, mister ‘ _my grandparents are cousins’_ that’s not something you tell the internet, Phil,” Dan smiles cheekily.

Dan lost it at that point, him and Phil both did. They sounded like hyenas, the alcohol making a somewhat funny situation hilarious because they laughed for nearly five minutes. Every time they would calm down, they would burst out again.

“What are we even laughing at, I forgot,” Dan says through gasps, “Oh my god, my stomach,” Dan holds his tummy as he continues to laugh.

“Something to do with cousins… I don’t know,” Phil is red in the face and he’s doubled over. Dan’s hoodie forgotten on the sink.

Then someone’s pounding on the door, “Louise is not going to be happy if you two are fucking in there,” it sounds like Chris, “and why wasn’t I invited?!” it’s Chris.

Phil opens the door still sort of giggling. Chris barrels through and yanks Dan off the toilet.

“I have to piss, you can stay and watch,” Chris grins as he starts to undo his button.

“Nope, we’re leaving, let’s go Phil,” Dan, even drunk, knows that he doesn’t want to watch anyone, even one of his closest friends, take a piss.

Phil follows him out.

“What time is it,” Dan thinks out loud, he pulls his phone out and realizes it’s nearly two minutes till the New Year. When the hell did that happen? He swears it was still 9:30pm.

The music is shut off and everyone is in Louise’s living room watching BBC’s coverage of the welcoming of the New Year. There’s a timer in the corner of the screen showing there was a minute and fifteen seconds left of 2014.

Phil has his arm wrapped around Dan’s waist, and neither of them care of who sees what, these are their friends—they trust these people.

_Ten!_

Dan takes a quick glance at Phil.

_Nine!_

Phil does the same.

_Eight!_

They catch each other staring.

_Seven!_

_Six!_

_Five!_

They avoid each other.

_Four!_

_Three!_

_Fuck it_

_Two, one!”_  Dan grabs Phil’s face, and perhaps it’s the alcohol, but he’s 18 again and he did what he did when they rang in 2010 together _five years ago_ ; he kisses the boy like he was the only thing keeping him alive.

_We can talk it so good_

_We can make it so divine_

_We can talk it good_

_How you wish it would be all the time_

The room is silent. All eyes are on the two who were still lip locked, no one paying attention to the fire crackers on screen.

“Nothing to see here, go about your business,” Chris finally says (bless that man), “but fucking finally, PJ, you owe me ten!”

Dan breaks away, “No one took a picture of that right? I don’t want twitter to explode or something like when Troyler did the thing,” he hears a small ‘hey!’ from somewhere and he knows that it was Troye.

“God, you know how to ruin a moment,” Phil shakes his head.

“Chris started it,” Dan mumbles—he thinks he does anyway.

“Hey, fuck off Howell,” Chris yells again.

“Chris, would you please shut up?” PJ says next to him.

Dan laughs lightly and rests his head on Phil’s shoulder. His friends were lunatics.

-

An hour later, the two are stumbling into their apartment. Trying to race up the stairs while trying to kick off their shoes and shrug off their hoodies.

They find themselves in Phil’s bed in their jim-jams cuddled up with the radiator on high.

Dan thinks when Phil is passed out on his shoulder, that maybe the future is indefinite and pretty fucking scary. But he’s got Phil. Which is perfectly okay.

New Year’s morning Dan isn’t thinking about everything. He’s just thinking about Phil.

_You're the only friend I need_

_Sharing beds like little kids_

_Laughing 'til our ribs get tough_

_But that will never be enough_

But it will do.

_-_

_Ribs by Lorde_

_The drink you spilt all over me_

_'Lover's Spit' left on repeat_

_My mum and dad let me stay home_

_It drives you crazy, getting old_

_We can talk it so good_

_We can make it so divine_

_We can talk it good_

_How you wish it would be all the time_

_The drink you spilt all over me_

_'Lover's Spit' left on repeat_

_My mum and dad let me stay home_

_It drives you crazy, getting old_

_We can talk it so good_

_We can make it so divine_

_We can talk it good_

_How you wish it would be all the time_

_This dream isn't feeling sweet_

_We're reeling through the midnight streets_

_And I've never felt more alone_

_It feels so scary, getting old_

_We can talk it so good_

_We can make it so divine_

_We can talk it good_

_How you wish it would be all the time_

_This dream isn't feeling sweet_

_We're reeling through the midnight streets_

_And I've never felt more alone_

_It feels so scary, getting old_

_This dream isn't feeling sweet_

_We're reeling through the midnight streets_

_And I've never felt more alone_

_It feels so scary, getting old_

_I want 'em back (I want 'em back)_

_The minds we had (the minds we had)_

_How all the thoughts (how all the thoughts)_

_Moved 'round our heads (moved 'round our heads)_

_I want 'em back (I want 'em back)_

_The minds we had (the minds we had)_

_It's not enough to feel the lack_

_I want 'em back, I want 'em back, I want 'em—_

_You're the only friend I need_

_Sharing beds like little kids_

_Laughing 'til our ribs get tough_

_But that will never be enough_

_You’re the only friend I need_

_Sharing beds like little kids_

_We’ll laugh ‘til our ribs get tough_

_But that will never be enough_

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed. not my first attempt at gay, but the first time i've ever wanted to show people. and i was surprised no one has ever used this song as inspiration... like it's just PHAN. it's actually about Lorde and her best friend. Hmm. 
> 
> i have a feeling that this is where it all starts... ya feel? (good lord.)
> 
> Edit 12/6/14  
> this has been nominated Best Songfic in the annual Phanfic Awards! if you head on over to phanfic.tumblr.com you can begin the voting process and vote for your favorite phanfics of 2014! i'm currently in 3rd place and it would mean a lot if you gave this a vote if you liked it enough to actually vote for it lol 
> 
> thanks for reading! xo


End file.
